Detonator head



sept. 23, 1947.

W. W. RIEDEL DEToNAToR HEAD Fi'ed April 21, 194s` Patented Sept. 23, 1947 DETONATOR HEAD Walter W. Riedel, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application April 21, 1943, Serial No. 483,909

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in explosive shells and particularly to improvements in the detonator heads for the projectiles of said shells.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a projectile with a delayed active detonating head which is vcapable of exploding and bursting the projectile upon impact only after the projectile has travelled a substantial, predetermined distance after leaving the muzzle of the gun from which the projectile has been red.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a delayed action detonator head for a projectile which is' of simple structure and design, consisting of only a few parts and therefore requiring minimum time and no specially skilled labor for assembly.

An ordinary detonator head for a projectile, not provided with a time delay device will explode the projectile upon impact with any substantial object. This is particularly dangerous and disastrous to the crew of the gun firing the shell if such firing is necessary in a wooded area where the projectile may strike a tree or the limb of a tree within an effective shrapnel or shell fragment distance of the gun causing the shell or projectile to explode and injure the firing crew.

Complicated timing devices consisting of a multiplicity of intricate parts have been used to delay the explosion of a projectile and avoid the dangers of explosions proximate to the ring gun. Such complicated timing devices are costly and of slow production due, not only to the multiplicity of their intricate parts, but also to the necessity of specially trained assemblers who must spend excessive time to put all such intricate parts togetherand then test the assembly to see that it is a properly working unit.

The device of the present invention comprises a minimum number of simple parts which may readily be assembled by unskilled workers in a comparatively short time. The nose piece of the detonator head which houses the Vfiring pin is attached to the detonator housing by a tubular member. A weight is slidably carried in the tubular member, said weight carrying the primer charge which, when struck by the ring pin, explodes and in turn sets off the detonator charge to burst the projectile. A spring in the tubular member engages the weight and yieldably urges it against the nose piece so that upon impact, the firing pin may strike the primer charge in said weight. Upon the ring of the shell and While the projectile is moving at an accelerated 2 rate the weight, due to its inertia, will move away from the nose piece toward the detonator charge housing against the effect of the spring, thus during acceleration of the projectile and for a time thereafter the weight maintains its primer charge out of striking range of the firing pin thereby rendering the primer charge impotent. The weight has ducts provided with a control valve which permit free movement of the weight away from the firing pin in response to and during acceleration in the flight movement of the projectile. As the spring moves the weight toward the nose piece when acceleration in the movement of the projectile ceases, the control valve causes this return movement of the Weight to be retarded and thus the detonator head is rendered inexplosive during its ight until the weight has been moved back against the nose piece, in which position the ring pin may, upon impact, strike the primer charge and explode it.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a part sectional view of the detonator head of a projectile all parts being shown in their normal position.

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. l, the parts, however, being shown in their respective positions during acceleration of the projectile after firing of the shell.

Fig. 3 is a detail, sectional View of the primer charge carrying inertia weight. This View shows the weight at an enlarged scale.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 20 designates the detonator housing portion of the detonator head having a screw threaded projection 2| received by the main body of the projectile (not shown) which usually contains the main detonator charge for bursting the entire projectile. This housing 20 is recessed to contain a portion 22 (shown in dotted lines) of and communicating with the main detonator charge in the projectile. Inasmuch as this portion of the device is of standard construction no detail illustration thereof has here been made but merely an l-indication by dotted lines.

A central passage 23 in the housing 2D communicates with the recess containing the detonator charge 22. In one end of this passage 23 there is secured a bushing 24 in which a spring loaded ring pin 25 is provided. This ring pin is actuated by the explosion of the primer charge to explode the detonator charge for bursting the projectile. The one end of a tubular member 26 extends into the central passage 23 and is secured therein. The interior diameter of this end of the tubular member 26 is reduced as at 21 and communicates with the head of the firing pin 25. The other end of said tubular memberisY exteriorly threaded to receive the interiorly threaded recess in the nose piece 36.

The housing 26 has a radial recess 3l the outer,

largest diameter portion of which is interior-ly.V

threaded to receive a clamping ring 32. The intermediate, smaller diameter portion ofV said recess 3| slidably supports a centrifugal safety valve 33, the smaller stem portion 34 of which slidab-ly fits into the smallest diameter portion ofV the recess 3|, which portion communicates with the reduced inside diameter portion 21 of the tubular member 26. Stem 34 of the centrifugal safety valve normally extends across the tube passage 21 to shut off communication between the interior` ofitube 26 and the ring pin 25 due to the'action of spring 36 interposed betweenV the Valve 33 andthe abutment cup 35. This prevents' accidental actuation of the main detonator charge firing pin 25 and thus eliminates the possibility of'exploding the projectile in oase of impact due to dropping during handling.

The abutment cup 35 is carried by the clampiing ring 32. A spring 36 is interposed betweenl the cup 35 and the centrifugal safety valve 33 and normally urges said valveso that its stem* portion 34 closes tube passage 21. When the shell is fired and the projectile 'passes through the ried barrel `of the gun, the projectile will be rotated ata high'velocity causin'g'the safety valve 33 to move outwardly/ by .centrifugal force and thusopen passage 21` to complete communication between the interior of the tubular member 26 fand the firing pinY 25 readying the detonator head for'projectile'explosion as shown in Fig. 2.

The nose piece 36 has two' axial recesses, theV one interiorly threaded to receive the one end of the tubular member 26, the other designated by the',numexalA 46. 'Y These two recesses are Vcon-- nected by a central duct 4! into which `th pointedv end of the firing pin 42 extends. rThis pin iscar'-V ried by a spider the legs 43 of Vwhich are secured in a counterbore 44 of the recess 46. A button 45 in recess'40 engages the spider said button being held in position by a locking ring 46'tting in an inner, annular groove in the wall'of recess 40. Locking'ring 46 also holds a substantially thin, collapsible sealing disc 41 in position in the front end of the nose piece. A` frusto-conically shaped shell 50 has its larger end viitting about the'housing 20 and its smaller end about the nose piece 30. A hole in shell D makes the clamping ring 32 available from outside the detonator head.

Therprimer charger66 is carried in an enlarged portion Vof a central'through-passage 6I provided in the inertia` weight element 62. A thin disc 63 holds the primer chargein said passage this disc being in the end of the weight passage adjacent the nose-piece when the weight is inthe tubularV member. A plurality of longitudinal ducts 64, parallel to the central'passage are provided in the weight. The end'of the weight 62 at which the disc 63 is secured has a portion 65 of such diameter as to fall short of the confines of the peripheries of the several ducts 64 in the weight. A ring shaped valve 66 fits loosely about said weight portion 65 and is held irremovably on the weight by the spinning over of the end of the 4 weight to provide the flange 61. This forms an annular groove in which the valve 66 is retained, the width of this groove being substantially greater than the thickness of the Valve 66 so as to permit its movement away from the surface of the weight in which one end of the ducts 64 terminates. Slight scratches or Vcuts'1ll maybe pro-v vided inthis end surface of the weight leading `from the ducts 64 to the outer periphery of the weight so that valve 66 may not completely close said ducts as the weight moves toward the nose piece. The outer diameter of the weight 62 is such .that it .will slidably t in the tubular member .26 and Vbe able to move through said tube between the nose piece at one end and the reduced diameter. opening at the other end of the tube.

A spring 1l in the tube, is interposed between the weight member 62 and the shoulder formed at the end of the tubular member having the reduced'diameter passage-21. The end of the spring adjacent thispassage'is anchored in a bearing washer 13which is readily rotatable in the tubular member.

As'has been mentioned heretofore, one obj ectof the present `invention is to provide a detonator head for a projectile'which'is adapted to render the projectile unexplodable fora predeterminedV timeinterval after it has left the muzzle of the gun 'from-which it was fired.Y

celerating movement such acceleration continu-V ing substantially until the projectile vhas left themuzzle of the gun. The riiiing in the gun barrel will cause the projectile -torotate atv a high rate as it passesA therethrough. As soon as the' projectile leavesthe gun'barrel'accelerationrin its movement ceases and deceleration starts;V i

A detonator-head on a projectile will have its parts Ain'their respective positions as shown in Figx1` before the shell Yis red. As soon 'as Nthe shell'is fired the projectilev is forced Vthrough the riiled gun barrel `at an accelerating rateV and is also rotated ata high rate-of speed. The high speed rotation 'of the' projectilev will cause the safety valve 33 to move radially outwardly againsttheeiect Vof the spring 36 thereby opening ithe passage 21 and completing communica'-A tionbetwe'en the tube 2'6 and the ring pin 25. Y

Acceleration in the forward vmovement of the projectile and the detonator head thereon will cause the inertia weight-62, slidablein the'tubular member26,` to move backwardly, away from the nose-piece 3|] and its ring pin 42 towardV the opposite end of the tubular member. As the weight 62 so-moves it willV compress the spring 1I.Y VDue toV such Weight movement air Within the Vtube 26"Wi11 be forced throughthe ducts 64 in the weight causingthe ring valve 66 thereon to be moved toward and Aagainst `the flange .61 thereby fully opening vsaidV ducts and permitting a free flowy of the air through said ducts; This results ina substantiallyunrestricted weight movement, as farl as the air in the tubeY is concerned,`in Ythis direction.V The weight will beurge'd to move in this direction as long as acceleration in the forward movement ofY the projectileY exists. However, asV soon as the' projectile leaves the gun barrel nozzle, acceleration 'ceases and thenv the spring 1I becomes effective' tomove the inertia weight in the opposite" direction ortoward and against'the -firing pin-supporting.v nose piece; .As the weight 62 starts to move forwardly toward the Vnose-piece 30 this movement together with the compression of the air in the tube 26 between said weight and nose piece will cause the ring valve E6 to move away from the ange 61 and against the main body portion of the weight, thereby substantially closing the ducts 64. Now the air passage through the ducts is restricted its flow being governed by the size of the scratches or cuts which now form orifices. The restriction of the air flow from in front of the weight 52 will retard its forward movement by the spring the required time for the movement of the weight from the non-ring position shown in Fig. 2 to the firing position shown in Fig. 1 being governable by the size of the orifices at 1l).

While the weight 62* is not in juxtaposition to the nose-piece asf shown in Fig. 2, the ring pin f 42 cannot strike the primer charge 'B0 in the Weight and thus the projectile is rendered unexplodable during its night for the period of time required by the weight to return from the acceleration position as shown in Fig. 2, to the potent or firing position, as shown in Fig. 1, under the effect of the spring and the restricted air ow. Thus the danger of premature explosion even under impact is substantially eliminated. While the weight is moving forwardly at a retarded rate to assume firing position the high speed of the projectile may carry it a sufficiently safe distance away from the ring gun before the shell is rendered explosive. If the nose-piece impacts with any object and thrusts the firing pin inwardly before the weight has reached `its firing position, the primer charge therein cannot be contacted by the firing pin 4Z and thus cannot be exploded and in turn explode the detonator charge and burst the projectile.

To vary the time during which the projectile is rendered unexplodable the size of the scratches or cuts 'i9 may be varied. Larger cuts or scratches will provide less restriction to the air iiovv past the valve 66 and will thus permit a quicker return of the charge bearing weight than smaller cuts or scratches 'HJ which would provide greater restriction to air ow and therefore a greater retardation of the return movement of the weight. The ducts 64 and valve 66 may be entirely eliminated and the air flow controlled by the clearance between the annular surface of the weight and the inner surface of the tubular member 1|. This may require spring 'H of different strength to be used to obtain the desired results.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A delayed action detonating head for the projectile of a shell comprising in combination, a housing containing a detonator charge; a tube; a nosepiece secured to the tube; a primer charge; a firing pin in the nosepiece, projectible into the tube for striking the primer charge to explode it; a movable carrier for the primer charge, slidably carried in the tube and normally held in juxtaposition to the firing pin and adapted to be shifted out of striking range of the firing pin in response to and during accelerative movement of the projectile due to the ring of the shell said carrier having an end-to-end passage; means for holding the carrier in normal position and for returning the carrier to normal position after acceleration in the movement of the projectile has ceased; and means bodily movable axially on the carrier maintaining its through passage completely open to permit its continuous free movement in one direction and restricting its through passage constantly to retard its movement in the opposite direction for its full range of travel.

2. A delayed action detonating head for the projectile of a shell comprising in combination, a housing containing a detonator charge; a primer charge; a ring pin for striking the primer charge to explode it; a movable carrier for the primer charge, having a plurality of end-to-end passages and a, radial groove in the end surface of the carrier more adjacent the firing pin, in communication with one of said passages, said carrier being normallyheld in juxtaposition to the firing pin and adapted to be shifted out of striking range of the firing pin into its non-firing position in response to and during accelerative movement of the projectile due to the iiring of the shell; means for returning the carrier from its non-ring to normal position after acceleration in the movement of the projectile has ceased; and means axially slidable on the carrier away from the grooved end surface thereof to permit free movement of the carrier away from the firing pin and movable into engagement with said grooved end to predeterminately retard the carriers full return movement from its non-firing position to normal position adjacent the firing pin.

3. A delayed action detonating head for the projectile of a shell comprising in combination, a housing, recessed to receive a detonator charge; a recessed nose piece; a tubular member securing the nose piece to the housing and providing communication between the recesses of both housing and nose piece; a ring pin in the nose piece; an inertia weight slidably tting in the tubular member said weight having longitudinal ducts; a spring in said tubular member yieldably holding the inertia weight in juxtaposition to the firing pin; a primer charge in said inertia weight, and a ring valve slidably supported on said inertia weight, said ring valve'sliding into position fully to open the ducts when said weight moves out of normal position due to accelerated movement of the head and adapted to restrict said ducts as the WeightJ is returned to normal position by the spring.

4. A delayed action detonating head for the projectile of a shell comprising in combination, a housing, recessed to receive a detonator charge; a recessed nose piece; a tubular member securing the nose piece to the housing and providing communication between the recesses of both housing and nose piece; a. firing pin in the nose piece; an inertia weight slidably fitting in the tubular member, said weight having a plurality of longitudinal through passages; a primer charge in one of said passages; a Valve on said weight adapted to open the other of said passages fully to permit substantially free movement of the weight in one direction said valve restricting said passages to retard the movement of the Weight in the opposite direction; and a spring yieldably urging the weight against the nose piece so as to place the primer charge in striking range of thev firing pin.

5. A delayed action detonating head for the projectile of a shell comprising in combination, a housing having a passage communicating with a recess which contains a detonator charge; a nose piece having communicating chambers; a

tube having one end secured in one chamber of the nose piece and. the other end secures in the passage of the housing, said tube providing communication between the other chamber of the nose piece and the detonator containing recess of the housing; a firing pin in said other chamber of the nose piece; means normally closing the housingpassage but adapted to open said passage in response to rotation of the projectile at a predetermined speed; an inertia Weight slidably tting Within the tube, said Weight having a plurality of longitudinal through passages; a primer charge in one of said passages; a spring yieldably :urging the weight against the nose piece to place the primer charge in striking range of the firing pin; and a valve on said inertia Weight adapted fully to open the other passages therein to permit, substantially free movement of the Weight away from the ring pin in response to and, during acceleration of the projectile movement due to ring ofthe shell,l said valve restricting said 'otherpassages in the Weight to retard its return Vmovement toward the ring pin by the spring after acceleration in the forward movement of the projectile has ceased.

WALTER W. RIEDEL.

REFERENCES CITED The'following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

